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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: 'Ignorance is an affront."
	YOU ARE IN DARKNESS.
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FERTILITY IS THE RULER!

Then came the agriculture and started transforming the human life. Agriculture suddenly brought to the conciousness of human beings the concept of fertility. If the harvest was good happiness was all around. If the harvest was bad, they were in trouble. Therefore everything should be done to ensure a good harvest. The Mother Goddess cult entered the scene. It expressed that this fertility - related to agriculture - which was transforming human life was sacred, because it meant the continuation of life itself. The symbol of this Mother Goddess was a figure of pregnant, naked woman. The concept of fertility, was one of the basics of being alive and the continuation of one's kind. The Mother Goddess joined the pantheon of various communities all around Europe and the Middle East, and eventually became one of the most powerful gods. It even overshadowed the Sky God. She was more powerful than him. It was Inanna in Sumer, Ishtar in Babylon, Anath in Canaan, Isis in Egypt, and Aphrodite in Greece. Myths, legends and stories of the people living then were all means that were invented and used to express and to define the unexplicable and unseen power enveloping them. The order, gods established in the sky was the prototype of the order here on earth. Whatever is there here on earth was decided upon on that divine level, recorded on 'something,' and realized here on earth. The political, social and ritualistic order were all taking shape in line with this divine design. There are communities even today thinking on identical lines (There are those who claim that the Bible was the word of God, which was with God since the beginning; There are those who maintain that everything is pre-determined and recorded on 'something' up there!; Moslems believe that Qoran was with God all the time recorded on 'Lavh-i Mahfuz' - Tablet with God's decrees written on it and preserved to the end of time - and sent down as a whole when the time came). Now you know when and where it had all started.

BABYLONIA AND CANAAN ARE THE SOURCES

In the year 4000 BC. writing was invented in Sumer. They initiated some of the basic characteristics of the 'belief systems of the book' of our day. Then came the Semitic Akkads. In 2000 BC. Amorites destroyed the Sumer-Akkad civilisation. They established Babylon as their capital city. 500 years later Assyrians settled in near-by Ashur, and in the end invaded Babylon in 800 BC. What is called 'the Babylonian tradition' was established, which had a deep influence on the myths of Canaan. Canaan was Israel's 'Promised Land.' As all the peoples of the region Babylonians tied their development and the cultural level they attained, to their gods. They believed these gods revealed and taught their order to the mythical ancestors of the Sumerians. According to them Babylon was an exact reflection of the divine order, the palaces in the city were the exact copies of the palaces of the gods. People living in the city of Babylon felt themselves in touch with the divine power (the concept of a 'sacred city' was adopted by the Judaism, Christianity and Islam as well). They preferred to believe that there was a divine connection between the order out there and the order here on earth. This connection was celebrated every year at the New Year Festivals. The tradition was formed at 1700 BC. The celebrations were held in the sacred month of Nisan (April) in Babylon. Babylon's civilisation depended on the sacred mana - the sacred power. On the fourth day of the festival Enuma Elish would be read at the Great Temple. Enuma Elish was thought to be the appropriate account of the creation. How could they have thought otherwise? No one was present at the creation, no one witnessed it.

Have you heard of Marduk? According to one version of the creation story Marduk was the one who created us. Did you know that? Marduk created mankind by mixing the blood of the Oafish (the consort of Tiamat) with earth. Take a breath of relief! Here, for a change, man was created from godly substance. But still this divine substance was taken from a 'being' that was in close relationship with Tiamat (considered to be the first concept of 'satan' in the history of mankind). In other words it was a godly substance of a 'negative' character. Don't forget the earth, and the dust. This example shows that gods and mankind were thought as originating from the same substance. Gods were more powerful. That's all.

Each and every Assyrian and Babylonian had his/her own God. The relationship between the believer and the personal God was direct, there were no intermediaries. God has the supreme authority. God is involved in the destiny of man. Every person had daily prayers. People presented their problems to their personal gods, and became a headache for this personal God if they decided that they got the cold shoulder.

At the head of the Baals of Canaan was the God El. His wife was Asherah. El married his three sisters, one of whom was Astarte. She is frequently referred to in the Old Testament as Ashtaroth. El not only killed his brother but also his own son: He cut off his daughter's head, castrated his father, castrated himself and compelled his confederates to do the same. In Canaan in those days the cult of sensuality was regarded as the worship of the gods, men and women prostitutes were accepted as 'sacred' by the followers of the religion, the rewards for their 'services' went into the temple treasuries as 'offerings for the God'. The despised and accursed religion of ancient Canaan has helped us reach a new understanding of Biblical statements about the religion of the Patriarchs. When the Biblical fathers called upon El-Elyon (the 'all highest'), El-Olam (the ancient of ancients - the eternal), El-Roy (he who appears, he who sees me) and El-Shaddai (the highest or almighty - the God of the mountain), their prayers were directed, as many scholars believe, to the chief Canaanite God El's local variants. El and Baal were the divine kings of the Canaanite Pantheon. They were later replaced by YAHWEH, the God of the 'chosen people' of the Bible. Yet there were certain differences. El was static, at rest, unapproachable, while Baal in contrast was dynamic, active, actual. One thing is clear, the God of the Old and New Testaments (beside whom there was no place for another God even in a subservient role) was naturally incompatible with the myth which had numerous other gods.

The God of Israel, who led them out of Egypt, YHWH-YAHWEH Sabaoth was a God of armies, a God of war. Later on they transformed this concept of a warring, vicious, bloody God into a symbol of transcendence and compassion. The God of the other two Semitic-origined belief systems, Christianity and Islam, also has armies. We read stories in these Books on the armies of God and Satan joining in battle.

ELOHIM, YHWH, 'FEAR', 'KINSMAN', THE 'MIGHTY ONE'

God's name should not be uttered freely. This rule applies to the Old Testament's God YHWH and to Allah of Islam (This prohibition is thought to have originated from an ancient taboo of pre-history. Moreover magic and sorcery are thought be the other reasons behind this ban, because it is the belief that If one knows the name of a certain person one may use it to take him under his influence). There are two names used for God in the original Hebrew Old Testament: Elohim and YHWH. These different names are taken as an evidence of the belief in more than one God in the early years of Mosaic belief system. There are also two writers using one or the other name of God. One of them is called 'J' (because he called his God 'Jehovah'), and the other is 'E' (because his God was called 'Elohim'). Priestly tradition had YHWH say that he was Abraham's God. But Abraham knew his God as El-Shaddai according to one opinion, and as Rabb according to another. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are presented as monotheists. This is only an impression. The reality is most certainly different. If they had ever lived, they must have lived in Canaan, and believed in the Canaanite gods. Abraham's God was either El, El Shaddai or Rabb; the name of Isaac's God in English was 'Fear' or 'Kinsman.' Jacob's God, again in English, was called the 'Mighty One.' These were most probably different gods. Though they may have been personal or tribal Gods, or the regional Gods introduced into the story in the Old Testament as the Gods of the Patriarchs.

EL, LAH, EL-LAH, AL-LAH, ALLAH

The Jewish God is male. Christians and Moslems also worship a male God. Allah is the Arabic word for God used by the Christians as well as Moslems. This name was known to Arabs even in pre-Islamic times. The probable etymology is the contraction of 'al-ILAH'. The Aramaic words 'Alaha' or 'Aloho' are also possible candidates. There is another probable root: The Hebrew word el ( and its plural elohim) derives from the semitic root alah ('to be strong' ) which means 'the great power.' The word which describes this holy, miracle-working omnipotent power must have derived from the same source as the word for 'God'. In the Hebrew original of the Old Testament the name of the God is given as either 'elah' (singular) or 'elahim' (plural). 'IL' was seen to be used to denote Allah. EL, IL, ALAHA, ELAH, ELAHIM, ELOH, ELOHIM are the names of God in Semitic language. Although the words 'elohim', 'elahim' in Hebrew are plural they are used in a singular context - denoting a 'sole' God - as well. Moses ben Maimonides, who is considered as the second founder of Judaism uses 'elohim' in a singular context. 'Some scholars say that the root of the word for the God of Islam, Allah, is the Aramaic 'Alaha,' ' writes the Encyclopedia of Islam. Syriac is accepted as a branch of Aramaic. The word Allah is Syriac, and may have its root in Aramaic 'Aloho.' Allah is not Arabic, it comes from a non-Arabic root. According to some scholars, EL, ELAHIM, SHADDAI, YEHWEH, YAHWEH were all used in an obscure meaning in pre-history. In some inscriptions found in Safa (a place near Mecca) the word 'God' appears. The words Allah, Hallah appear together with the name of one of the idols in Nabataean, but the word Allah appears alone in the Safa inscriptions. The origin of Allah, according to people of Kufa is 'ILAH.' According to Basrans it is 'Lah.' The assumption is that, in order to magnify 'ILAH,' 'El' is added. The 'l' of El and 'i' of ILAH became too heavy to pronounce; 'i' is dropped; and the resultant word became 'Ellah.' The same applies to 'Lah.' To exalt the word, most probably, 'El' is added and the final word became 'El-Lah.' There are those among the Islamic scholars who say that 'God' is general than 'Allah.' Arabs reportedly 'had the habit of calling each one of their idols as Allah in addition to its name. Then suddenly Allah became the name of the greatest God.' Since the word Allah became the name of the greatest God, and there is only one greatest God, it has no plural. From the standpoint of Islam the other gods cannot be called Allah or 'Elah/Ýlah.' Allah is the 'greatest name' because it belongs to Him. "The concept of Allah among the pre-Islamic Arabs was amazingly similar to the concept of Allah in Islam. Qoran is baffled sometimes as to why such a correct understanding of God had not led the infidels to accept the new reality," writes Dr. Toshihiko Izutsu. These pre-Islamic Arabs believed that Allah was 'the creator of the world,' 'the one who brings rain,' and 'the One who gave life to everything on earth.' The only thing which makes Qoran feel uneasy towards them is the fact that though they knew God as "the One who created the sky and the earth, they did not end up with the conclusion that He was the only one to worship." According to Islam Allah is first and last because he existed before everything and he will exist after everything ceased to exist. Everything will end, only his 'self' is permanent. He is above everything. There's none higher. He is in everything, closest to everything. This is the formula in Islam: "Allah exists. He has no before or after. He is eternal. He is the only God. He doesn't need anybody or anything. He is not tied to a place. He does not beget, and he is not begotten. He has no equal. He is always alive ('hayy'). He is all-knowing. He is all-hearing. He is all-seeing. He has the will. He is all-powerful. He is the giver of speech. He is the creator." According to an early tradition (hadith) God said to Mohamed: " I was a hidden treasure; I wanted to be known. Hence, I created the world so that I might be known." This is basically the God of Islam, which was the God of Abraham, the God of Moses, God of Jesus and finally God of Mohamed.

GOD'S NAME IN SUMERIAN : DENGIR/DINGIR; IN CENTRAL ASIAN TURKISH: TENG-RI

The God's name is 'Teng-ri' for the Turks of Central Asia (Here Spenta Mainyu must remind you that the word used for God in Sumer was either 'Dengir' or 'Dingir. The similarity between Tengri and Dengir/Dingir' is worth noting); and 'Huda' for the Persians. Mohamed is reportedly used to address his God as follows: "Ente Ilahi! Laelahe illa ente!" (You are my 'ILAH'! There is no other 'ILAH,' but you!'). As seen from here Mohamed called his God "Ýlah' the origin of which could be traced back to Elah, Eloh, Aloho, Alaha etc. The word 'Rabb' is used also as the name for God in many places in Qoran.

A supreme being showing itself to human beings was normal in the beginning. They were just superior to the mankind, therefore more powerful. That was all. They created the mankind as their servants, but they shared their environment with humans. The writers of the Old Testament adopted and adapted the stories of the ancient times and wrote their own versions which we read in the 'Code Books.' In one of those stories Abraham even sits down for a meal with his God in ancient Mamre, Hebron-Al Khalil, and suddenly realizes that one of the visitors (there were three) is his God. Could any one of you imagine a naivity like this? A God sitting down and eating with a human being? This is ridiculous. Here we have an anthropomorphic - human like - God imagined by the mankind. No wonder, this idea - a God revealing itself - became an anathema for Israel later on. Following the Babylonian exile the concept of God of the Mosaic belief system was amended: God became an entity 'the divine presence of whom could only be seen as an afterglow.' This 'divine presence' is called by the writer as 'the glory (kavod) of YHWH.' This glory(!) should not be confused with the God himself. It is only a manifestation. The writers of the Old Testament added an important motif to support this idea. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai 'his own face reflected this 'glory' and shone with such an unbearable light that the Israelites could not look upon him.' But the 'Priestly Tradition' was not very happy with an anthropomorphic God, so instead of YHWH accompanying Israel during the Exodus they changed the story in to the 'glory' of YHWH filling the tent where he met Moses. This Priestly Tradition (the representative of which was also the writer of the story, and called 'writer P'. 'P' denoting the Priesty Tradition) had his most important contribution to the Old Testament in the form of the 'account of creation' in the first chapter of Genesis. He drew upon Enuma Elish of the Babylonians. The consequence of his effort was the separation of the stuff the world is made of from the stuff of YHWH. In other words the world ceased to be divine.

According to some scholars, YHWH-Jahweh was not a 'God,' but a priest who lived during King David's reign (1006-966 BC.). His writings were called the 'Jahwist tradition' and due to a misinterpretation this Jahweh was taken as the name of a supreme being.

Jehovah is most probably a volcano God. This superior entity entered the scene with the famous stories of Exodus, and the 'Law giving.' Egyptians could not have worshipped him, because there are no volcanoes in Egypt, active or inactive, young or ancient. Here let us pause for a moment and think about the significance of the similarity between Jehovah=YHWH=YAHWEH=JAHWEH and the other sacred name JUPITER=JOVE. We can say that during those centuries of darkness which unfortunately are not open to historical research, there must have been a series of powerful volcanic eruptions in the eastern Mediterranean basin, which left a deep impression on the local communities. In the conversation between YHWH and Moses before Moses went up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, YHWH tells Moses that He (YHWH) wants Israel to found a state (Mamlaka) of Priests (Kohanim). In the light of these wishes it could be said that these people in front of the Mount Sinai did not know YHWH before, or they had forgotten him long time ago. The two names used in the Old Testament for God, Elohim and YHWH may be taken as an evidence supporting this assumption. Elohim (could be singular or plural) appeared in the beginning, later on YHWH replaced 'Elohim.' The types of prayers, the tent, and the Ark of the Covenant appeared with YHWH. YHWH may have been brought over by Moses, or he may have been the God of a small community and made the 'sole' God of the new community by Moses. According to a widespread opinion YHWH was the God of the Kenites (A Semitic tribe). It was impossible to see this supreme entity, and the making of his effigy was forbidden. Moses may have adopted this God as his and tried to impose him as the 'sole' God on the nomadic tribes that set off toward the Jordan Valley to settle there.

The God of the Sons of Israel did not take part in His act (the 'creation'). This God is endless, not like His creation. He is not created therefore he must have a time and place peculiar to him. The God of Judaism made himself known under names like Elohim (El), Eloah, El Shaddai, YHWH, YHWH Sabaoth, Adonai, and Shekinah - in the Cabbalistic context. Israel's God is a jealous and dreadful God. As Bertrand Russell tells us, "the whole of this understanding of God has its origins in the ancient eastern despotism." Israel's God is a wholly divisive and differentiating God. YHWH, differing from the other gods, did not express himself in a cosmic, but in a historical time scale with an absolute beginning and end. God of Israel was the only designer and organiser of the daily life, history and politics of the Jews. All kinds of humanly decisions and judgements could inevitably contradict Him, even if they do not violate the Law of the God. Nothing could be added to or subtracted from God's creation. According to the Jews, man's duty in this world is summarized in Ecclesiastes 12:13: "Hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." Jews are required only 'to know what God has done, not to intepret it.' Since word is God's, interpretation/exegesis is God's prerogative as it is written in Genesis 40:8: (The butler and the baker of the 'King' of Egypt are talking to Joseph) "We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Don't (you know) interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me. I pray you." Joseph says here that the interpretation belong to God but in Genesis 40:12 he interprets the dream. Another example of the incompetence of the writers of the Old Testament. Interpretation of God's actions is considered sedition One should remember here, that Islam has also prohibied the interpretation of the Law - Qoran - and branded this action as equating oneself with God. But nevertheless there are numerous interpreters of both the Old Testament and Qoran, who consider themselves 'guides' showing(!) or leading(!) the way to God. These actions should be considered sedition as well. Don't you think so?

Well, back to Judaism. These seditious acts would create discord between the God and the Jews. Since these seditious acts could be considered sins they exactly fall into the description in Isaiah 59:2: "..your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear." The gods of the Pagans, the man made effigies and idols were branded as the 'symbols of evil' by the Jews. Jews were acquiring their names and their communal identity within their alliance with the God. A Jew was the servant of his God. He was like a worker on contract on the 'Promised Land,' because according to the Law the land belonged to the God. But Israel's God was also 'good' and involved with his people. A dialogue has been going on between the God and the mankind since the time of Abraham, the Jews believed.

Abraham's God El/El Shaddai/Rabb was a peaceful, friendly God. When he thought necessary, he revealed himself in human form. But later on the idea of an anthropomorphic God wandering among the mankind will become an anathema for the Israel. This story about God walking among mankind and revealing himself to Abraham by the side of an oak tree in Mamre-Hebron was written into the Old Testament by the writer called 'J' (who is called 'J' because he calls his God 'Jehovah,' and he is one of the four writers of the Pentateuch). 'Rabb' (this is the God of Abraham, who 'J' calls 'Jehovah'), and two other beings who were with him accepted an invitation by Abraham and had lunch(!) with him acording to the Book. Another writer, this time 'E' (he is called 'E' because he calls his God 'Elohim') finds this intimacy between the Patriarchs and their gods unacceptable, and he makes God speak to Abraham through an angel. How could a creator, an absolute ruler, fixer of destinies meet face to face with the 'insignificant' human being He has created? An intermediary, a minister, an 'interface' a 'modem' is absolutely necessary.

The theory that YHWH-Jehovah was a Midianite God is discredited by some today. Alright! What was He? A God brought over from Egypt by Moses? Does it make any difference? No. Anyway, as we read in the 'Book' it was in Midian that Moses had his first vision of YHWH (the 'burning bush' story). God called to him by name and Moses replied "I am here!" (hineni!). YHWH was accepted as the God of Israel, and the Old Testament announces that He had led Israel out of Egypt. YHWH was also called, 'YAHWEH Sabaoth' meaning 'God of Armies', a God of war. Here we have a clue to the reason behind this name: He was the 'God of Armies' because Israel had to fight their way towards a new homeland. They needed a God of war. Later on they transformed this concept of a warring, vicious, bloody God into a symbol of transcendence and compassion. Upon their arrival in Canaan and joining their next of kin there Israel made another contract with YHWH. But in reality, Israel remembered YHWH whenever they needed His military protection. At, peaceful times they went back to Baal, Anath, and Asherah.

MONOTHEISTS LIKED THE PRIME MOVER FIRST. BUT IT WAS UNSUITABLE FOR THEIR NEEDS

The later monotheists, especially Christians in the western world were influenced mainly by the Aristotle's idea of God. There was the 'Unmoved Mover' at the top. It was a pure being; eternal, immobile and spiritual. It was pure thought; thinker and thought at the same time, engaged in an eternal moment of contemplation of himself, the highest object of knowledge. In contrast to 'it' matter is imperfect and mortal, therefore there could not be a material element in God. Each movement must have a cause that can be traced back to an antecedent, that antecedent to another antecedent, eventually ending up in a 'single' source. The Unmoved Mover is the source which causes all the motion and activity in the Universe. This Unmoved Mover activates the world by a process of attraction, because all beings are drawn towards Being itself. Man is different. He is in a privileged position. Why? Because human soul has the divine gift of intellect. By having this intellect he becomes a kin to God; he has some of the qualities and attributes of the divine nature, and because of this divine capacity of reason he is above the plants and animals. Man is a microcosm of the whole of universe, and it is his duty to become immortal and divine by purifiying his intellect. Wisdom (sophia) was the highest of all human virtues, and when man contemplates he imitates something which the Unmoved Mover does all the time. So man becomes divine(!).

THEORIA/CONTEMPLATION… DO IT ALL THE TIME TO BECOME GODLY (!)

This contemplation (theoria) is understood as two completely different things in the East and West. In Eastern Christianity it means meditation and reflection (and this tradition is taken over by Islam as well); In the West it is a rational hypothesis which must be logically demonstrated. How instructive and expressive this is! Because this basic difference in their approach to thought processes exhibits the crucial foundation stones in the formation of eastern and western societies. So, to become divine(!) man has to contemplate. But be warned, this contemplation is extremely difficult to achieve. It is not something for everybody. One has to have logic first. But that was not enough. One needed a disciplined intuition as well. Only this mixture of logic and disciplined intuition would result in an ecstatic self-transcendence. Obviously very few human beings are capable of this wisdom. What most can do is the exercise of foresight and intelligence in daily life. This meant that the Greek God could be discovered by human reason. In contrast to this God, the God of the Old Testament could not be grasped by human intellect, and He made himself known only by means of revelation. An unbridgeable gulf separated YHWH from the world. In contrast Greeks believed that the gift of reason made human beings kin to God. They could therefore reach him by their own efforts. But Aristotle's God had little religious relevance. He had not created the world. Because this would have involved an inappropriate change and a time bound, transient activity. This God remains quite indifferent to the existence of the universe, because he cannot contemplate anything inferior to himself (well of course, he cannot do that). He could not have directed or made changes to the world or to our lives. Furthermore, it was doubtful whether this God was aware of the cosmos which (supposedly) came to being as the necessary effect of His existence. At first this God of Aristotle made a great impression on the Jews and Moslems. They loved it. He was the tailor-made supreme being for their purposes, but later on they found out to their dissatisfaction that this supreme being could have only a minute effect on the world of mortals. That was the negative aspect which meant that this concept of God cannot be employed by the overseers of these belief systems, who aimed at a total control on their communities and the creation of a monolithic faith. To achieve their goal these overseers needed an all-seeing, all-hearing, ever-alive God who fixed the destinies, punished the wrongdoers, decided on the beginning and the end of the universe, and judged the mankind on the judgement day etc. So Aristotle's God was not suitable for them and they reverted to their specific concepts of God.

The lesson? Spenta Mainyu says, come to your senses and contemplate not to become divine but to understand that there is nothing divine.

Every time the monotheists felt themselves close to the Greek philosophy, they attempted to adapt the Greek God to their's. The first one who attempted that was Philo of Alexandria. He was a Jew, a devout observer of mitzvot - commandments of the Jewish Law. He did not see an incompatibility between his God and the Greek one. Aristotle's God had no human characteristics. We could only know it existed. But being a practicising Jew Philo believed that God showed himself to the prophets. He felt that he had to find a solution to this 'contradiction' between the two ideas. He said that God has an essence (ousia) which is impossible to comprehend fully; and there are things he does in the world, which are his manifestations (dynameis) or energy (energeiai). Therefore we could not know God as He is. But in His benevolence, God employs his power and manifestations to adapt Himself to our limited intellect. To make himself known of course! Philo furthermore says that there is a kingly power and a creative power on either side of the essential being (ousia) of the God. According to him, the two angels accompanying YHWH when Abraham met them at Mamre, Hebron are the allegorical presentation of ousia and the two great powers (what an imagination!). Philo introduced the theory of divine logos as well. This divine logos was the master plan of creation devised by God. This is the highest idea of God humans can reach.

Contrary to the Old Testament, God has spoken to mankind only once in the New Testament, and this happened during John the Baptist's baptizing of Jesus as it is told in Matthew 3:16-17. After that event God has never spoken to anyone again, Jesus included. Never gave orders. In John 4:24 Jesus talks about his God: "God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth." The debate on God reached its peak with Jesus, because he claimed that he was sent by the God (Father) as the Saviour; he was the only Son of the God, thus 'God' himself. If God is a spirit as Jesus had said, and he is the Son of God, then how are we going to explain this problem of 'God appearing in a body of flesh?' This necessarily meant that God has created Himself in the image of man. In the Epistle (letter) of Apostle Paul to the Philippians 2: 6-11 we read: (Referring to Jesus Christ) "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God..But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:..And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross..Wherefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." What does this mean? According to the Law it was the other way round: 'Man was created in the image of God.' This was anathema to the Jews. According to the Bible Jesus is divine and he is baptized. Jesus was not eternalized by YHWH. But he eternalized himself in the memories of the following generations as the 'spirit created in the image of man.' Contrary to YHWH, Jesus never promised land in this world, but promised firstly an eternal life in the Kingdom of God in heavens, and life after death. As if there wasn't sufficient number of problems to keep those people occupied, one more, the 'resurrection' entered the stage. In his first Epistle to the Corinthians 15:12-17 Apostle Paul declared the 'heart' of the Christian belief system: "Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?..But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:..And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: ..And if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain, you are yet in your sins." The summary: "If Christ is not raised then our preaching is in vain and so is our faith." The risen Christ is the pivotal point of the Christian faith. Because no resurrection means no Church, no hope of eternal life (which is the eternal yearning of man, and the New Testament is founded on the hope of achieving an eternal life), no eucharistic bread and wine. The resurrection of Christ is the most radical of Christian doctrines. There are precedents and parallels of his reported teachings, compassion for others, even his martyr's death, in other myths, legends, stories and religious traditions. But the claim that God has raised him from the dead has no precedent. This story created doubt and disbelief from the beginning. Jews of the Biblical Jerusalem thought that it was simply blasphemous for the renegade Christians to claim that a crucified criminal was the Messiah. If we are to believe in what is written in the New Testament, it was the appearance(!) of the resurrected(!) Christ that lit the flame of Christian faith. Various Biblical scholars argue that the gospel stories of the empty tomb and Jesus' post-resurrection appearances are fictions devised long after his death to justify claims of his divinity (Spenta Mainyu shares this view). Starting with the Apostle Paul's 'stories' the original Jesus Movement was lost eventually. The original Jesus Movement fell victim to the developing Christian Church establishment, which transformed the human Jesus into a divine Son of God, the Messiah. There are scholars who argued that the early Christians applied to Jesus all the myths that had accumulated about the expected Messiah (these myths date back to Mithraism, Zoroastrianism). The God of Jesus - Elohim - was the loving and caring father of the whole mankind. He was the universal, 'sole' supreme being. Whereas YHWH - Israel's God - was 'our God' (the God of a certain group of people) who was the particular 'sole' supreme being. Could any person in his/her right mind claim that these two concepts of the supposedly same supreme being are identical? One is presented as universal while the other is tribal, national. Do you know what this shows? Israel needed a concept of a fighting, particular supreme being to 'lead" them on the road to achieving their aims, to lead them towards a nationhood in their fight against the local people of the region they invaded. But Jesus needed a concept of a supreme being suited to the needs of the Jewish community who felt strait-jacketed by an all-enveloping God, and yearned for a bit of a humanly freedom.

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